The Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) expects to complete the arrest and deportation of all personnel involved with still-operating illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) by the end of 2025, or earlier.
PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio stated that the government has already detained over 1,000 POGO employees and plans to complete the deportation process within the next two to three weeks.
On November 5, 2024, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 74 (EO 74), officially ordering the prohibition of POGOs, online gambling, and other offshore gaming activities.
Casio revealed in a press conference on state-run PTV-4 that currently, about 899 illegal POGO workers are detained in PAOCC’s detention facility in Pasay City, with an additional 200 to 300 individuals still held by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
“We are adopting a whole-government collaborative approach to combat this issue, expecting to completely eradicate these illegal POGO personnel by the end of this year or sooner,” Casio said, noting that PAOCC is closely working with the Immigration Bureau, the Department of Justice, and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking to expedite the deportation process.
According to official data, since January 2024, the Philippine government has arrested over 11,000 individuals related to POGOs and plans a large-scale deportation operation this month.
Casio disclosed that the majority of the arrested foreigners are from Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and China. He emphasized, “Our goal is to complete the deportation of 1,000 illegal POGO workers within the next two to three weeks.”
Furthermore, Casio assured the public that PAOCC and related law enforcement agencies will continue their pursuit operations to thoroughly eliminate the residual forces of POGO, ensuring the complete exit of this illegal industry from the Philippines.
